OUC Half Marathon Recap

The OUC Half Marathon took place in Orlando, Fl (home sweet home) on December 4th. There wasn’t an expo and I didn’t pick up my packet – so nothing to report there! The race is run by Track Shack and pretty well managed. The frills are minimal, but the race also only cost me $40 – so no complaints there.

When I picked Paula up @ 6, my car said it was 39 degrees outside. Yay? At the last minute I threw on leggings under my shorts and I’m so glad I did. I looked like a dork, but my legs were happy with me.

The race started a few minutes late – but nothing to complain about (see Reindeer Run). Paula and I started in the 8 minute pace group – even though I’m a 9-minute pacer – and I promised myself I wouldn’t start too fast. Ha. I immediately lost Paula and didn’t find her again until after the race. On of these days we are actually going to run together. I definitely started off way to fast and realized this when I looked down at my Garmin about a half a mile in. I also realized at this point that I forgot to reset my Garmin from last run. Idiot! So I spend 20-30 seconds trying to reset it. Did I mention this was my first race with my Garmin (which, by the way, still needs a name). I could have used those seconds later, so I’m really kicking myself.

Overall, the race was pretty smooth. I felt good about my pacing. I wasn’t aiming for any particular time – I just wanted to finish at (or around) 2:05. I was a little disappointed that nobody from my family came out to cheer me on, but I guess it was cold. I’ll have to make them feel guilty so they will definitely come out next year.

Mile 11 hit and once again I slowed down. Not terribly bad — I kept my pace at/under 10:00, but I wanted to be done. How do people run marathons again? I guess they start out at a slower pace! I have to admit, I was a little confused about the end of the race. Because my Garmin was off, I couldn’t tell it was the end until I saw the sign (about 200m from the finish). I normally kick it up a notch about about a half a mile away – but not this time. Bummer!

Race #3 – Done!

I did feel good finishing though – especially because I really wasn’t trying to PR! Of course, I am kicking myself about the Garmin – I probably could have finished sub 2:00!! That’s my goal my next race — Melbourne Half Marathon — I’m looking at YOU.

For some reason there are like 800 (ok maybe 5) pictures of me finishing this race. I guess they were excited that I finally crossed the finish line! Here are just a few…

I’m floating

There are more – I will spare you. Maybe they thought I was going to start flying or something?

In summary – Good race. I could have done with the cobblestone (my ankles were SO angry at me), but I will definitely do this one again. I think they could have offered more food at the end (the 5Ks apparently ate all of the bananas), but I could have celebrated with a beer if I wanted to. At 9am in the morning. Hmmm…I passed.

I did eventually find Paula who also PR’d. You go girl! I also found my friend/coworker John who ran his first half in 2:09. Super proud of him! Especially because he was running with a bum foot in Sketchers! Boy needs some new running shoes! Hopefully, they are on his Christmas list.